Black Eye
by Jenny1751
Summary: Kirishima thought it was fine to keep quiet about his feelings for Bakugou, until Bakugou got himself a boyfriend. Then he was miserable.


**HEEEEYYYYY**

 **Shoutout to my readers who have been waiting for me to update my currently ongoing stories for months and are probably very disappointed ;')**

 **I'M SORRY BUT I FELL IN LOVE WITH KIRIBAKU**

 **So hope you enjoy ~ !**

* * *

To Kirishima, being 'manly' is living a life with no regrets; which is why he often found himself a bit depressed when fear always got in the way and he let it hold him back. First it was the incident during middle school that almost led him to giving up his dream of becoming a hero. And then there was the training camp, where he couldn't do anything even though he knew that villains were targeting his best friend. After these two incidences though, his resolve strengthened and he told himself that he never wanted to feel helpless anymore, which he immediately acted on by going to save Bakugou in Kamino. So as time passed, he began to believe that he truly had changed from his cowardly ways.

But then he fell in love with Bakugou and all that fear returned. Kirishima honestly thought that it wasn't a big deal; Bakugou was smart, strong and loyal. Not to mention that he was (relatively) nice to Kirishima, allowing him to see more of Bakugou's soft side. So you can't really blame him for falling in lo- _developing a crush_. Which was perfectly healthy, they were all teenagers after all. It was normal for things like relationships to cross their minds every once in a while. But he figured that knowing Bakugou, he wouldn't want any distractions from his pursuit of being the number one hero. He respected that and it was even one of the reasons he lo- _admired_ him so much.

Kirishima had a long way to go, so he thought it better to focus on his training as well, so he could keep up with Bakugou. It made him happy that that Bakugou didn't mind keeping him by his side. He was honored that the person he admired, one of the class' top students, acknowledged his strength like that. It was inspiring and maybe even in the future, when they're all pro heroes, Bakugou still wouldn't mind having Kirishima by his side.

Mina wasn't happy with his way of doing things though, and kept telling him to just confess already. Because she was suddenly an expert concerning Bakugou and was absolutely sure that he liked Kirishima back. But Kirishima didn't see any need to this because what they had was fine. He was happy.

Until Bakugou decided to throw a curveball and announced that he got himself a boyfriend.

They were in Kaminari's room playing video games, something that's developed into a tradition at that point. It had been Sero and Mina's turn so Kirishima and Kaminari sat back on the bed, just chatting when Bakugou barged into the room, dramatic entrance as usual, and dropped that bomb at them.

Now, it was important to note that at that point, the only person in class-A who wasn't aware of Kirishima's little crush on Bakugou was Bakugou himself. It was even safe to assume that even the teachers knew hell class B probably knew too.

So it didn't take a genius to realize what was going through his friends mind during the fifteen second moment of silence that followed after the announcement. Kirishima could practically feel Kaminari's worried glance at the back of his head. But Bakugou didn't know because in his eyes, Kirishima was just his best friend. And Kirishima was (had been) happy with that.

And as his best friend, Kirishima took it upon himself to break the silence by congratulating Bakugou and asking more information about his new relationship. Honestly, Kirishima didn't even know that Bakugou was gay. It was one of the (many) reasons why he didn't want to say anything.

"He's a senpai who's also interning at Miruko's office. He asked me out earlier this afternoon." Bakugou explained. "He's been really helping me out since I started off and he's really strong too. So I figured, why not?"

Bakugou's told him about his internship. Miruko's personality was a bit similar to Bakugou's so he fit right in. Sure there it wasn't really as exciting as he had hoped it would be but Kirishima had been glad that he was getting along well with the people at the agency. He ignored the tiny part of him that wished Bakugou hadn't gotten along _so_ well with them.

"Really?" Mina said, trying to sound excited but Kirishima caught the side glance she threw his way. Well, on the bright side, he'd be able to tell her 'I told you so'. There's no way Bakugou had been interested in him if he got himself boyfriend. "What… what's he like?"

"He's… nice." He shrugged, the usual scowl completely missing from his face. And that simple detail revealed more than words ever could. Kirishima felt his heart clench.

"… That's great!" he forced out, hoping his grin looked normal. "You should let us meet him sometime."

"Maybe." He muttered, taking out his phone and fiddling with it. "He's graduating this year so he'll be pretty busy. God knows what the dumbass was thinking asking me out, should've focused more on going pro."

"That didn't stop you from agreeing though…" Mina muttered, earning a glare from Kirishima.

"Well, yeah. Because why not?" he frowned. "I mean, he's really nice… I guess? So…"

"Wait, so do you like him or...?"

Kirishima knew that Mina had asked for his sake, probably to give him even slightest amount of hope. But when Bakugou's cheeks turned pink before he proceeded to snap at them in an attempt to hide it, Kirishima knew it was hopeless.

The rest of the night was spent with the others trying embarrassingly hard to act normal and not give Kirishima any more pitying glances. If Bakugou noticed the tension, he didn't say anything. He most likely remained oblivious to it, like he did with Kirishima's feelings for months. For a smart guy, he was actually quite slow.

When it got late, Bakugou was the first one to leave and he did so after mildly bickering with Kaminari who had once again commented on how he was like an old man. Once he left, all eyes turned to Kirishima and he couldn't help but sigh.

"I'm fine guys."

Mina shook her head. "No, you're not."

And it was true, but they didn't have to point it out. It's not like there was much they could do about it anyway.

By the next morning, everyone in class knew about Bakugou's new relationship status and he could feel everyone's eyes on him which only served to make the relationship worse. They don't have to worry so much about him, he's fine. He's happy.

Happy for Bakugou, his best friend. Like he should be.

Kirishima tried to crush his selfishness with the guilt that came with a small part of himself hoping that it doesn't work out. Because thinking like that was not manly at all!

Not that he was. Manly, that is. This was the third time, and it made him realize that no matter how physically stronger he's gotten, he still hasn't changed. Telling himself he was happy with what they had was just his way of covering up the fact that he was too much of a coward to actually tell Bakugou how he felt.

He snorted. Even if he _had_ somehow gathered the courage to tell him, he doubt Bakugou would've wanted to be with someone as pathetic as Kirishima.

So pathetic.

"He doesn't look like much but he's got a good head on his shoulders, probably from experience." Bakugou said when Kirishima asked more about his boyfriend while they were headed back to the dorms because apparently, he was a masochist. In a strange, Deku-like fashion, he proceeded to lay out his senpai/boyfriend's quirk, strengths, weaknesses, battle tactics, and various other things that Bakugou must've picked up from analyzing the guy at the field. Kirishima wanted to chuckle because it was _just like_ Bakugou to focus on that sort of stuff, but it did nothing to ease the pain in his heart. Because even though he sounded bored and nonchalant while stating his boyfriend's real life stats, Kirishima had spent enough time with Bakugou to recognize the amount of respect he had towards the guy.

"You know, during my first few days at Miruko's agency, everyone already knew me and the assholes were always like 'sludge kid' this and 'villain recruit' that." He scowled, eyes darkening and Kirishima pondered whether putting a hand on his shoulder would be comforting or would just make him snap. "But he wasn't like that and I guess I appreciated it. Got all the other fuckers to stop too, so that's a plus."

Kirishima doubt that even Midoriya would've noticed how his eyes softened or the way he snorted and purposely deepened his scowl in an attempt to hide his smile.

This guy made Bakugou happy, and that in turn made Kirishima happy too. Or at least, that's what he'll tell himself. Because he's been lying to himself this entire time so no use stopping now, right?

Things pretty much stayed the same, except Bakugou would occasionally decline hanging out with them after school or during the weekends so he can instead go on dates with his boyfriend. Kaminari and Sero would often tease him whenever he does, but not as much as you'd expect, definitely holding back in consideration for Kirishima who always insists that he's fine. They don't believe him, of course.

Months pass and the awkwardness fades, his friends probably figured that he's gotten over Bakugou. Or they're just smart enough not to comment on it anymore since it'll just rub salt in the wound. But Kirishima has not moved on. On the contrary, it's like his feelings have grown stronger. Or maybe he's always had intense feelings for his best friend and just didn't acknowledge it. Whatever it is, there's no doubt about it now.

He's in love with Bakugou.

And Bakugou has a boyfriend. Kirishima was absolute _worst_.

* * *

"Hey! I got my hands on this foreign horror movie and I heard it was supposed to be super creepy. Wanna watch it later?" Sero asked one day once they got out of class.

"Yeah!"

"How creepy are we talking here?" Mina and Kaminari, respectively, piped up in unison.

"Can't." Bakugou said, still typing in his phone, not even bothering to look up.

"Aw, you got a date again?" Sero asked teasingly, earning him a glare. But the lack of response is more than enough of an affirmation.

"You spend so much time with him!" Mina complained. "We're starting to get jealous, Bakugou!"

"You see me literally every fucking day, and we live in the same building, Black Eyes." He scoffed. "You're acting like I only see you once a week."

"It _feels_ like that's the case!"

"I _wish_ that was the fucking case." He said before shoving his phone in his pocket and speedwalking past them. "See ya, losers."

"Woah! Someone's in a hurry." Kaminari chuckled.

"See ya, Bakugou!" Kirishima called out. "Stay safe!"

"And by that, we mean use protection!" Mina said and Bakugou flipped her off without even turning around, making the others laugh.

"Man, for a serious guy he sure is… well, serious about his relationship." Sero commented.

"Right? He looked like he was in a hurry putting his stuff away earlier too." Kaminari hummed. "Didn't they see each other just the other day, though?"

"He was probably just excited to spend more time with his boyfriend." Mina swooned.

"They've been going on a lot of dates recently, haven't they?"

"They're probably trying to enjoy their time together while they can." Kaminari said. "Once his boyfie graduates, he'll be pretty busy after all."

Kirishima stayed silent.

Later on, their plan encountered a little bump in the road. Midoriya, Uraraka, Asui, Iida and Todoroki had apparently been planning their own movie night. And according to the schedule for the use of the flat screen TV in the common room that no one (other than Iida) pays attention to, it's technically their squad's turn. Mina had whined endlessly but Iida was having none of it, even though Midoriya and Uraraka insisted that it was fine if they rescheduled.

"If groups just kept on rescheduling then that would make the schedule meaningless!" Iida insisted and no one had the heart to tell him that most of the class has forgotten about the schedule he's made anyway. In the end, the two groups decided to just share. Since it was technically Midoriya's group's turn, they watched their movie- a romcom- first. Near the end of it, Aizawa suddenly appeared.

"Oh! Sensei!" Mina grinned. "You wanna join our movie night."

"No." he deadpanned. "Can any of you call Bakugou down here; I want to talk to him."

Kirishima immediately frowned and stood up. "Is he in trouble?"

From the corner of his eye, he could see Midoriya looked worried as well. But Aizawa shook his head. "No, it's just that he gave me his English homework instead of the one I assigned you."

Kaminari and Sero snickered.

"What the hell? Was he that excited for his date?" Kaminari asked.

Aizawa raised an eyebrow. "Date?"

"Yeah, he was in such a hurry that he mixed up his homework!" Sero snorted.

"That doesn't sound like Kacchan at all…" Midoriya muttered.

Well, Kirishima doubt even Midoriya's seen Bakugou in love. Kirishima decided to stay quiet lest the bitterness seep into his voice.

Right on cue though, the main entrance doors opened and shut, signaling someone's arrival and Aizawa made his way down the hall, expecting Bakugou. "Oi, Bakugou. Do you have any idea what ti-"

Aizawa abruptly stopped his inevitable mother hen rant about staying out too late which made the group of students get up from their seats to see what's going on.

"What?" Bakugou snapped and you can hear the scowl on his face from his voice alone. Once they got a look at him though, each and every one of them stopped on their tracks.

Bakugou had a black eye. A nasty one too.

In all the time they've known the explosive teen, it became obvious that he was practically an expert in evasive maneuvers. So it was actually very hard to imagine someone getting a good hit in. Kirishima's heart raced when the possibility of him being ambushed by villains crossed his mind.

"If I'm not mistaken, you don't have internship today." Aizawa's voice was calm and full of authority. "Did you get into a fight?"

Bakugou snorted. "Depends on what your definition of a fight is."

"I thought you were just going on a date with your boyfriend!" Sero said, sounding incredibly exasperated, which is to be expected from their group's mom friend.

"I was." He said with a flat tone. "We broke up."

You probably would've been able to hear a pin drop in the silence that followed. The students stared at him with wide eyes before turning to each other, eyes filled with incredulity and trying to figure out what and if they should say anything to him. Even Aizawa, ever the level-headed one, looked like he was struggling to figure out how to proceed with the situation. His mouth opening and closing as he tried to grasp the right words to use.

In a normal situation, you'd comfort the person who'd just had a break up and then move on. But this situation was different because it involved Bakugou and a black eye.

"Care to elaborate?" was apparently the phrase Aizawa decided on.

"Do I have to?" he grumbled, sounding very tired and wanting to just collapse on his bed.

"Does it have something to do with that swelling in your eye?"

"… Yes."

"Then yes, you have to." He crossed his arms and Bakugou clicked his tongue.

"Can I at least get some fucking ice on this first?" he asked, exasperated and only looked more annoyed when Todoroki instantly walked up to him and handed him some ice that he created. Bakugou snatched it from his hand and gently pressed it to his eye.

"He was being a fucking dumbass."

"I'm sure." Aizawa drawled out.

"He was upset that I couldn't spend that much time with him because of training and the dorm's curfew and all that shit." Bakugou scowled. "So he told me to just drop out. Fuckin' said he could support me once he graduated and all that bullshit."

All their individual thoughts concerning that were summed up and so eloquently put into words by Mina who blurted out. "What the _fuck_?"

"Right?!" Bakugou cried out. "He was being fucking stupid and I tried to talk some sense into him but the asshole just won't fucking _listen_!"

"… And?" Aizawa asked, having a good idea on where this was leading to.

"And so I broke up with him." Bakugou scowled before gesturing to his face that was partly obscured by the ice. "He didn't take it well."

Aizawa was dead wrong in his assumptions and he immediately felt horrible for it. It took exactly twelve seconds for that information to sink in and, as expected, Mina was the one to break the stunned silence.

"He _punched_ you for _breaking up with him_?!"

The room exploded as everyone started screaming indignantly, inquiring about his well-being and expressing their shock. Despite there only being eleven people, the noise was practically deafening as the students gathered around Bakugou who flinched at the sudden onslaught. It took another few seconds for Aizawa to regain his composure and calm his students.

"That's enough. I'm still not done talking to Bakugou." He said and the teens stepped back to give the two some space. When Aizawa's eyes met Bakugou's, the boy scowled although it somehow seemed to have less anger concentrated than usual which can only be detected through prolonged exposure to his personality.

"I didn't fucking use my quirk on him, _okay_? I mean, I hit him back but it was just a punch in the gut, nothing he can't walk off. And he was the one who fucking started it anyway." He grumbled, his frown softer than usual. It took a moment for Aizawa to realize that his student was legitimately upset about the whole ordeal, so much so that he didn't even have it in him to be angry which was very concerning.

"Am I gonna get fucking suspended _again_ for this shit?" Bakugou asked and Aizawa realized that he'd been quiet for a moment too long.

"No." Aizawa said. "Go get some rest."

Bakugou nodded and, for a moment, even looked grateful towards Aizawa before heading towards the elevator. As expected, his little group of friends immediately went after him, still throwing worried glances at each other as if telepathically trying to decided which one of them should speak up first. They were good kids, and Aizawa had no doubt that they would help Bakugou feel better and he would be back to his old self by morning. On the other hand, Aizawa had a different job, which he planned on performing immediately as he turned to look at Midoriya. He and Bakugou may not be as close as they supposedly were when they were children, but there is very little that the kid _didn't_ know about his childhood friend.

"I take it you have his name?" Aizawa asked, eyes shining red and emitting killing intent that could rival a villain's.

Midoriya gasped. "Sensei, _please_!"

The boy held out his phone wherein Google Maps was opened up and a certain location was pinned.

"I have his _address_."

God bless this boy, and may the heavens have mercy on the poor bastard who dared hurt one of Aizawa's kids because Aizawa sure as hell won't.

* * *

"Bakugou?" Mina (God Bless her) finally broke the silence, but her voice sounded so small in the silence that filled the elevator. "… Are you okay?"

"Yeah." His voice was clipped. A simple and straightforward answer; no 'Of course I am, dumbass' or 'Why the hell wouldn't I be?' that would've been so reassuring to hear. It just proved that Bakugou was indeed not okay.

"Does your eye hurt?" she asked again.

"I've had worse." He mumbled.

He sounded so tired and upset and none of them has ever seen him like this before, except for Kirishima who was reminded of what happened after Kamino and how quiet Bakugou was after they watched All Might's fight.

Kaminari cleared his throat. "Hey, cheer up! I mean, you were probably too good for him anyway."

"Yeah, definitely!" Mina said. "You could do _waaaay_ better than that jerk."

"Of course I can, idiots." He scoffed, making their eyes light up at the familiar irritation washing over his features. "You think I don't know that? I _do_ , and that's _why_ I fucking broke up with him."

"Damn right, it was a good call." Kaminari gave him a thumbs up to which Bakugou only huffed but the vacant look from earlier returned to his eyes and they panicked a little.

"You know, most relationships don't work out. It's normal, and it's also normal to be bummed about it." Mina hurriedly said as the elevator opened. Bakugou was the first to step out and they followed after him, staying a few steps behind because they knew it would just upset him more to see their worried looks. "But don't beat yourself up over it too much, okay? We're still in high school, after all so… you know…"

Bakugou didn't answer and Mina glanced at Kirishima in distress. He smiled at her in appreciation of her efforts.

"But this is pretty surprising…" Sero sighed as Bakugou unlocked his door. "I mean, you don't talk about him much but I thought you guys were really happy."

Bakugou stopped. The door was unlocked and his hand was on the knob but for a moment, he just stood there; not moving and not speaking. Kirishima's frowned deepened and he was about to speak up and ask (stupidly) if he was alright when Bakugou beat him to it.

"Yeah, I thought so too." His voice was uncharacteristically soft and Kirishima had the urge to hug him.

"… Hey." Mina spoke quietly, as if talking to a scared animal and afraid that it would run off. "You wanna talk about it?"

Bakugou stared at her for what felt like forever before he shrugged and walked into his room, leaving the door open for them to enter. Bakugou sat on his bed and Kirishima joined him as the others got comfortable on the floor.

"So…" Kaminari trailed off awkwardly. "Has he ever shown any signs of being the dumbass you decided to break up with or are you just as surprised as the rest of us?"

" _Kami_." Sero said, although it was a legitimate question.

"I mean, I didn't think he was so stupid that he'd actually fucking ask me to drop out and expect me to just go with it, but…" Bakugou shifted uncomfortably. "It's not like this came out of fucking nowhere. He's been acting weird for the past few weeks."

"Weird?" Mina quirked an eyebrow.

"He'd get upset more often and I noticed that it's usually when I cut our dates short or I cancel or some shit. Which I fucking get, I guess. So I sorta started to feel bad because hell, he's my boyfriend so I should at least _try_ to spend more time with him, right?" he grumbled. "So I did, whenever I'm free I'd hit him up and we'd fucking grab dinner or whatever. But I guess it wasn't _enough_ for him."

Mina huffed, crossing her arms. "It's not like he's never been through the Hero Course. He should've understood how busy you were. Hell, _he's_ always busy too, isn't he?"

"Yeah, and what's with the dropping out thing? You've been going out for months! He should've known better than to tell _you_ what to do." Kaminari said.

Bakugou scoffed. "I fucking hate this…"

"Hey, it's okay man." Sero shrugged. "It's actually a good thing that you found that he was a douche. Now you won't have to waste any more time with him."

"I fucking _know_ that, but..." Bakugou raked a hand through his hair in frustration. "Fuck! It feels like I lost or something."

Kirishima frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I _mean_ ," Bakugou spoke through gritted teeth. "That I hate losing. And I knew this whole relationship was gonna be a fucking challenge, since I'm _me_ and considering that, I guess it actually is a fucking accomplishment that we lasted as long as we did-"

"Woah, woah, hold up, Bakugou." Kirishima said. "Don't… don't tell me you're blaming _yourself_ for this."

Their eyes widened and Mina jumped to her feet. "No no no no no, Bakugou, don't. That is a symptom of being in an abusive relationship and I am _not_ letting you get back together with him after this!"

"I'm not getting back together with him, Black-Eyes! Hell if he fucking castrated himself in front of me, I'd beat the shit out of him." He snapped before his voice dropped in volume and he mumbled on. "It's just that I feel like everybody knew it wasn't gonna work out because of the way I fucking am so I wanted to prove them wrong…"

"What?" Kirishima asked, glancing questioningly at the others who looked just as confused as him. "Who… what do you mean everybody knew it wasn't gonna work out?"

"I mean, the others aren't as close to you as we are but I'm pretty sure even they're aware of the amount of effort you put into this relationship." Kaminari said.

"Yeah but fucking admit it. Even you assholes thought that it was gonna go to shit eventually, right?" he scowled. "After all, there's no way Blasty can actually maintain a healthy fucking relationship."

"Wha- Bakugou, we never thought that!" Kirishima said.

"Yeah! I mean, sure you didn't seem all that interested in him at first but we figured you didn't _hate_ him so…" Mina shrugged.

"It's not like we all knew and thought in our heads that you were gonna eventually ruin your own relationship or anything!" Kaminari said.

"Which you didn't, by the way." Sero added.

Mina nodded. "Very important to note, you didn't."

"Don't fucking lie." He hissed. "I saw the way you looked at each other after I told you! You assholes didn't even try to hide how horrified you were."

… Oh.

 _Oh no_.

 _Bakugou misinterpreted their concern over Kirishima as judgmental reactions over his relationship and they can't tell him the truth because that would mean outing Kirishima._

For a moment, they looked horrified. Kirishima didn't want to lie to Bakugou but this wasn't really the perfect time for a confession either. Kaminari and Ashido were both too stupid to think of a convincing lie on the spot. So Sero had to come and save the day.

"Bakugou, we were just shocked." He said.

"Shocked that the asshole actually managed to trick someone to like him?" he growled and Sero flailed his arms around as if he could just fan away the misunderstanding and make it clear for Bakugou.

"No! It's just that- well, you didn't really seem like the type to be interested in relationships, you know? So we'd kinda expect you to reject anyone who confesses to you 'cause you wanna focus on being the no. 1 hero, right?" Sero trailed off, starting to get desperate when Bakugou doesn't look anywhere near convinced with his explanation. "It just came out of nowhere, so it was a big shock, you know? And _hell_ , we didn't even know you were _gay_ so you gotta admit that you dropped a pretty big bomb back then."

Bakugou perked up at this. "Wait, you fuckers didn't know I was gay?"

"NO!" they all yelled in unison, making him jump.

"… Oh." He said dumbly. "… Is that a fucking problem?"

Despite the vulgarity, they could hear the hesitation in his voice.

"No! Not at all!" Mina said.

"Yeah, it's not like we were put off or anything. We're not like that." Kaminari said.

"It's fine with us if you're gay." Sero reassured him.

"Yeah, it's great!"

Bakugou quirked an eyebrow before turning to Kirishima. "Great?"

Kirishima froze, and from the corner of his eyes, he could see his friends looking at him with varying degrees of exasperation, pity and amusement over his dumb, gay ass.

"Great..!" he trailed off. "… that you trusted us enough to come out like that! It must've taken a lot of courage and I thought it was pretty manly."

Bakugou huffed and Kirishima caught Kaminari stealthily giving him a thumbs up while mouthing 'Nice save' from his peripheral vision.

"… You dumbasses seriously didn't know?" he asked curiously.

"Well, shit man. Were we supposed to?" Kaminari rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I mean, I'm starting to feel like a shit friend for apparently not figuring it out."

"I mean, you _are_ a shit friend but to be fair, I didn't really have high hopes for you in the first place."

Kaminari yelled indignantly. "Harsh words coming from one of _my_ best friends! You really don't have room to talk."

"The only reason I'm friends with you, Pikachu is because you're friends with Kirishima. And the only reason Kirishima's friends with you is because he's friends with fucking everybody." He scowled. "And also because you're sitting right in front of him during class."

"LIES!"

Kirishima couldn't help but chuckle which eventually turned into the three of them full-on laughing as Bakugou and Kirishima bickered. Bakugou kept hitting it where it hurts while Kaminari continuously reminded him that Bakugou was stupid by association because he hung out with Kaminari. This pissed off Bakugou and Kirishima had to hold him back at one point but he was just glad that they managed to cheer up their friend so he didn't mind getting a few explosions to the face.

When they left to go to bed, they exchanged triumphant looks and, of course, Kirishima stayed back for a while longer.

"… You okay?" he asked when they were alone.

"… Yeah." His voice was quiet but gruff, and Kirishima knew he meant it.

"I'm sorry about what happened." He said and he meant it. The part of him that was overjoyed at the prospect of Bakugou being single again only served to multiply the amount of guilt he felt. "Break ups suck."

"Yeah, they do." He snorted. "I guess I had it coming though."

"Hey, dude. C'mon." Kirishima frowned. "He was a dick; it's not your fault that things ended up this way. Some people just seem way nicer at first before you get to know them."

"Yeah, but… fuck!" he scratched his head in frustration. "I just- I guess I was an asshole too, you know? So I guess this is just karma being a bitch."

" _Bakugou_." His frown deepened and he put his hand on his shoulder, hoping to ground his friend some way. "I know, more than anyone that you can be difficult at times but he should have known what he was getting into when he asked you out. You're a pretty open and honest person, after all. So stop beating yourself up over this. "

This wasn't fair to Bakugou, he deserved better. He deserved someone who would accept him for who he was. He deserved someone who could see the good in him, underneath his brash and vulgar exterior. He deserved someone who would support him in his hero career every step of the way. He deserved someone who wouldn't make him sad like he was now.

Kirishima stared at Bakugou's face. He threw away the block of ice that Todoroki had given him in favor of a warm compress and held it against his face. Although it partially obscured it, Kirishima could still catch glimpses of the swelling and he felt his anger built up along with the urge to hunt down the guy who dared hurt his friend, both physically and emotionally. Bakugou may deserve someone better than Kirishima, but at least Kirishima knew that with absolute certainty that he could treat Bakugou a hundred times better than his boy- _ex-boyfriend_ ever could.

"It's not that." He grumbled. "… I told you that I wasn't really interested in him at first, right? I just thought 'why the fuck not?'."

"Yeah…" he frowned. "But that's not a bad thing, right? You gave him a chance, and when you were together, you put a lot of time and effort into it so you don't have to feel bad."

Bakugou didn't look at all convinced.

"You don't get it…" he grumbled, brows scrunched up and glaring at the floor. "It's like… I fucking used him… which is a shit thing to do. I'm the fucking _worst_."

"Hey." He said gently, hand moving from Bakugou's shoulder down to grasp his hand and squeezed it. Bakugou squeezed back. "Talk to me, Bakugou."

Bakugou's good eye looked at Kirishima with hesitation.

And for a short while, it was just them. Staring at each other, worried eyes on Bakugou's tired one.

"It's not like I was head over heels with that loser." Bakugou mumbled. "But… I _did_ like him… somewhat. And I _did_ want it to work out between us."

"Yeah." Kirishima ignored the way his heart clenched. "I know."

"I'm just not good at this whole fucking emotion shtick, you know?"

"Yeah." _And that's fine_ , he wanted to say.

"But I can't help but think that if it was anyone else, they probably would've handled this shit better or they would've fucking seen it coming."

"You don't know that." _Please stop blaming yourself._

"I just wish I was better, you know?"

"You don't have to be." _You're already perfect_.

Kirishima wanted to tell Bakugou the truth of how he felt. He wanted to tell him that he didn't have to change himself for someone to accept him and make him feel loved.

He doesn't know when he started leaning into Bakugou, but it must be really late already because his brain's become so tired that he thinks he sees Bakugou leaning closer too.

But then Bakugou looks away.

"Thanks… for listening or whatever." He said, staring at the other side of the room so Kirishima can't see his face. "You should probably go to bed… Sorry for keeping you up."

"… Anytime, man." He said getting up, but not yet letting go of his hand. "You okay?"

Bakugou doesn't look at him but he feels him squeeze his hand. "Yeah."

He reluctantly lets go and opens the door to leave.

"Good night, Bakugou."

"See you tomorrow, Shitty-Hair."

Once Kirishima is back in his room, he smothers his head onto his pillow to stifle his groan. God, he was the worst. He almost took advantage of his heartbroken best friend!

"Pathetic…"

* * *

Bakugou sat on his bed, not moving since Kirishima left the room. He took a moment to reflect, look back on his choices that lead him to this point in his life. He sighed, collapsing on his bed.

"I'm so fucking pathetic."

* * *

 **I hope you liked it ~ !**

 **So initially, I was going to post this in AO3 BUT I DON'T KNOW HOW TO DO SHIT THERE QAQ WHY TF IS IT SO COMPLICATED I WANNA CRY**

 **I want to post more kiribaku shit but I want to do it there since it looks like the MHA fandom is more active there than here in and their system there or archiving stories is actually a lot better? Tags in AO3 are a GODSEND. So with that said, HERE IS A CALL TO ACTION**

 **I need a beta reader who will not only serve as a beta reader but also someone who knows how to format and post shit in AO3 so they can do it for me. We can also fangirl about kacchan and kirishima :3 although I'm a bit busy with school most of the time, I really like this pairing and whenever I'm free, I try to write about them. Tbh, this was supposed to be 2k words MAX but it turned into 5,864 words QAQ I HAVE NO SELF-CONTROL**

 **Holla at a girl if you want to help a sister out ;) Also, you need to be okay with smut because one of the stories I'm working on right now is Omegaverse :3**

 **~ Please review ~ !**

 **~ RnR ~ !**

 **~ RnR ~ !**


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